using-datatemplates-in-code.md

title	page_title	description	slug	tags	position
Using DataTemplate in Code	Using DataTemplate in Code	This article shows how to get or create a DataTemplate in code using few different approaches.	using-datatemplate-in-code	xamlreader,parse,datatemplate,resources	14

Using DataTemplate in Code

This article shows how to get or create a DataTemplate in code using few different approaches.

Defining the Template in XAML

The most conveninent approach is to define the DataTemplate in XAML and get it in code when needed.

[XAML] Example 1: Defining the DataTemplate in XAML

{{region using-datatemplate-in-code-0}} <UserControl.Resources> </UserControl.Resources> {{endregion}}

[C#] Example 2: Getting the DataTemplate in code

{{region using-datatemplate-in-code-1}} public partial class MyUserControl : UserControl { public MyUserControl() { InitializeComponent();

		DataTemplate template = (DataTemplate)this.Resources["MyDataTemplate"];
	}
}

{{endregion}}

Defining the Template in Code as a String

If you don't have access to XAML you can define the DataTemplate as a string and use the XamlReader.Parse static method to parse the string to a DataTemplate object.

When using this approach you need to add all the namespaces required by the elements in the DataTemplate manually in the string or the parser context.

[C#] Example 3: Parsing a string containing a DataTemplate

{{region using-datatemplate-in-code-2}} var dataTemplateString = @"" + @"" + @"<telerik:RadButton Content=""Button Content"" />" + @"<TextBlock Text=""{Binding }"" />" + @"<local:MyCustomControl />" + @"" + @"";

ParserContext parserContext = new ParserContext();

// This namespace is required for all the default elements that don't require a prefix, like DataTemplate, TextBlock, StackPanel, etc.
parserContext.XmlnsDictionary.Add("", "http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml/presentation");
// This is the telerik namespace required by the RadButton in this case.
parserContext.XmlnsDictionary.Add("telerik", "http://schemas.telerik.com/2008/xaml/presentation");
// This is a local namespace pointing to a namespace from your application. The same approach is used for any other namespaces.
parserContext.XmlnsDictionary.Add("local", "clr-namespace:MyNamespace;assembly=MyAssemblyName");

DataTemplate template = (DataTemplate)XamlReader.Parse(dataTemplateString, parserContext);

{{endregion}}

Using FrameworkElementFactory

Creating a DataTemplate in code is not as simple as creating a visual element, like аn heir of UIelement for example. To do so you will need to use the FrameworkElementFactory class. As this is the least recommended approach for creating a DataTemplate in code there won't be example for it. But, if you need to use it check the FrameworkElementFactory documentation in MSDN.

See Also

• [Introduction]({%slug introduction%})
• [Getting Started with XAML]({%slug common-faq%})